Just finished, what an amazing game. ND has outdone themselves yet again. I can't wait to see what they do with the PS4. No other developer creates a living world like these guys do. Just ridiculous how good this was. It was something else to see the post apocalyptic world through the eyes of ND.

Took me 19 hours and 47 mins on Normal. I didn't get a single trophy for collectables and I thought I was doing a pretty good job finding stuff, but I missed something somewhere.

Has anyone tried new game plus? What carries over?

EDIT: Wanted to add that the combat is some of the most satisfying I've ever played in a game. They really nailed it. Where the stealth in Uncharted just never seemed to click for me, they got it perfect in this one.

Now end game spoilers

Spoiler for Hiden:

I thought either Joel or Ellie was going to die. Thats' the vibe I was getting towards the end. I was surprised it ended the way it did. I would guess you don't go through all this to make a game and not have it be a franchise like Uncharted, but how can you make a sequel to this game?

Another question. In Pittsburgh, I found a poster of 3 deserters from the Hunter group and I'm pretty sure it was Joel, Bill, and Bill's partner. It said they were executed, but I figure they were saying that because they deserted. I know it was hinted that he was a Hunter before a Smuggler, was he in Pit?

Joel was clearly a hunter around in the early years after society collapsed. He was likely a bandit robbing people for supplies so that Tommy could survive, as per their dialog. I very much doubt that he would straight up kill everyone as much as the other hunters you meet did, but you can be sure he was lost and jaded enough to have killed some innocent people during his time.

Afterwards, he got into smuggling, which got him and Tess into the quarantine zone. Because they didn't get normally accepted into the zone, they aren't issued regular ration cards, which is why they have to smuggle and trade for them.

Naughty Dog has said that there's plenty more stories to tell in their particular zombie apocalypse world. If you think about it, there's plenty of survivors across the world.

Just finished the game. Generally speaking, Iím not much of a console gamer. Iím also not a fan of most third person games. All that said, this is by far my favorite game of the year and probably my favorite game of this console generation.

My total play time was 12 hour 49 minutes on normal. I also had a whopping 177 melee kills.

I thought either Joel or Ellie was going to die. Thats' the vibe I was getting towards the end. I was surprised it ended the way it did. I would guess you don't go through all this to make a game and not have it be a franchise like Uncharted, but how can you make a sequel to this game?

I hope there is no sequel. I think it would just lessen the meaning of the narrative that they were going for. I really think this game could be a turning point for gaming where we start seeing powerful narrative that isn't just another holywood trope. Naughty Dog kind of strayed from that path after Uncharted 1 but they are back and character development is even stronger than Nate/Elena in UC1. The people involved with this game should be getting the equivalent of Oscars.

There will be a sequel. But I think it'll just be more stories told in the setting, as well as different explorations the various kinds of survivors. To be frank, Sony owns Naughty Dog, while ND does have some level of freedom, you can bet that Sony will be clamoring for more The Last of Us, just like they pushed for a new Uncharted.

Spoiler for Hiden:

What if the next game is focused on a progressive group of survivors, like Tommy's group at the dam? Instead of being primarily a linear story, it instead puts you in the lead of such a group trying to build a new society. You constantly have to range for supplies, and to trade, fend off bandits, recruit new people with skills and personalities, even send them to do tasks while you're off doing other stuff. Not quite open world, but hub the mission based.

Or, you could be a survivor from Pittsburg after the military abandons it, as they said they were going to do soon in the game. You become part of a group dedicated towards reaching a different quarantine zone, and instead of primarily 1 person to travel with, you have a larger group to see to safety.

But, even if they continue the story directly, I think there's still enough character development to be had that they could pull a Pixar and make sequels that are just as compelling as the originals, if not more. Ellie has to deal with her being infected, she's a kid now, but advance the story 4 years, Joel's getting even older, and she clearly has things on her mind she needs to get over. Or, what if she isn't as infected, what if something changes and her body starts healing from the bite mark on her arm? Eventually, someone's going to see that bite as well, will they accept her, or kick her out?

It's weird, but if they released an HD version of this on the PS4, I'd buy it full price. That might happen since Naughty Dog has basically ported their engine to the PS4, stating they didn't want to make the mistake of trying to create an entirely new engine from scratch like they did for Uncharted.

That said, there was a cool bit of (likely intentional) leaked art that probably is for ND's next game on the PS4, it had guys in Victorian looking coats.

This game was completely off my radar, namely because the next zombie apocalypse/survival horror game I enjoy will be the first. I'm also not a huge ND fan, although I've really only tried the Vita version of Uncharted. However, the crazy high scores have caught my attention, and I'm wondering if I should give it a shot. Third person action generally isn't really my thing, but I was so blown away by the new Tomb Raider game that I'm thinking it might be worth expanding my horizons a bit. I love strong story driven games with interesting characters, and it sounds like this one has that in spades.

For those of you not playing on Hard, how difficult are you finding it? Are we talking controller-throwing frustration, or something more manageable. If a non twitch gamer wanted to enjoy the story, characters, and atmosphere, is it doable? TIA

This game was completely off my radar, namely because the next zombie apocalypse/survival horror game I enjoy will be the first. I'm also not a huge ND fan, although I've really only tried the Vita version of Uncharted. However, the crazy high scores have caught my attention, and I'm wondering if I should give it a shot. Third person action generally isn't really my thing, but I was so blown away by the new Tomb Raider game that I'm thinking it might be worth expanding my horizons a bit. I love strong story driven games with interesting characters, and it sounds like this one has that in spades.

For those of you not playing on Hard, how difficult are you finding it? Are we talking controller-throwing frustration, or something more manageable. If a non twitch gamer wanted to enjoy the story, characters, and atmosphere, is it doable? TIA

I've been slowly playing the game since I got it last week so I have been purposefully avoiding this topic. I just finished the game, final time 14 hours and 20 minutes. I really like the game, but my feelings evolved a lot over the course of the experience.

At the start of the game I didn't really get the combat so the game felt a little odd. I didn't find any issues with aiming - that felt proper given the setting - but coming from Uncharted I thought they wanted you to find ways to kill all enemies. Then I realized that it felt much more natural to avoid as many enemies as possible, and even run away when it made sense. There was a trade-off by doing this, as it was much harder to come by ammo and collectibles, but you needed less ammo. It made more sense for these characters to sneak into a room, climb out a window on to a balcony, climb back into another room and then sneak down a stairwell than to murder everyone and draw attention. Sure, there are places that you have to kill, but overall stealth works best and helps to reduce the times you are in a chaotic situation.

The writing was fantastic, as was the music. All the characters were well written and interesting - no stereotypical heroes and villains.

Some more thoughts in spoilers:

Spoiler for Hiden:

There's so much more I want to know about the characters that I was surprised wasn't shared. Who exactly was Tess and how did Joel wind up with her? Why did Bill owe Joel?

There were so many deaths I just didn't see coming, like Tess and the older brother (did not see it going that way at all) that I really thought they were going to off one of the main characters.

Related, the one bit that threw me a little was Joel's "death". This was the one part that broke my suspension of disbelief. He had a giant pole entirely through his body. Even if it didn't rip through one or more organs on the way through, Ellie somehow gets him back on the horse and to a house without him bleeding out and then somehow stitches him up? I think they could have handled this a bit better. Then, after what felt like a climax where they find the university abandoned, we start playing as Ellie in what I thought was an epilogue. Turns out there is quite a lot of game left, and it took me a little while to settle back in to the flow of the story.

As far as gameplay I wish they had come up with some other puzzle ideas - helping Ellie get across water gets a little silly after the 5th or 6th time.

It needs to settle a bit more, but I think this my GOTY so far over Bioshock, just because of the effectiveness of the writing and acting. It's kind of funny, as this is a game, but my experience was not necessarily one of "fun" so much as being very engaged and invested in what was going on. It's not a game you want to immediately start up a new game+ on (although I will probably do a little this week), but you appreciate the experience.

I also noted that I only got 1 achievement (besides finishing the game) the entire game. I wonder if ND did that on purpose to avoid interrupting the game.

For those of you not playing on Hard, how difficult are you finding it? Are we talking controller-throwing frustration, or something more manageable. If a non twitch gamer wanted to enjoy the story, characters, and atmosphere, is it doable? TIA

Let me save you the trouble. You won't like it

Gratch is the one who hates everything, right?

Seriously though, playing on normal I think I only died maybe 10-15 times in the whole game, most of which were at the end of the game and the rest were during the early Clicker sections before I figured out how to easily bypass them. If you drop it all the way down to easy you get Shiv defense by default, which means you canít be one shot by zombies unless you donít have a Shiv.

For what itís worth, Iím not a 3rd person action fan either and I loved the game.

This game was completely off my radar, namely because the next zombie apocalypse/survival horror game I enjoy will be the first. I'm also not a huge ND fan, although I've really only tried the Vita version of Uncharted. However, the crazy high scores have caught my attention, and I'm wondering if I should give it a shot. Third person action generally isn't really my thing, but I was so blown away by the new Tomb Raider game that I'm thinking it might be worth expanding my horizons a bit. I love strong story driven games with interesting characters, and it sounds like this one has that in spades.

For those of you not playing on Hard, how difficult are you finding it? Are we talking controller-throwing frustration, or something more manageable. If a non twitch gamer wanted to enjoy the story, characters, and atmosphere, is it doable? TIA

Let me save you the trouble. You won't like it

Wait, Gratch, you've only tried a non-Naughty Dog designed game and are using that to say you don't like Naughty Dog games?

Wait, I do? I actually really enjoyed Tomb Raider, and this looks like it might have a similar vibe. Hence the interest.

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For what itís worth, Iím not a 3rd person action fan either and I loved the game.

Good to hear. I'll probably give it a shot after a price drop or two.

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Wait, Gratch, you've only tried a non-Naughty Dog designed game and are using that to say you don't like Naughty Dog games?

I've played one of the PS3 Uncharted games (2, I think) and the Vita Uncharted game (which I thought was done by ND, thanks for clarifying). Didn't think much of either one after 3-4 hours. Between the crappy combat (it's entirely possible that it was good and I just sucked), the constant "what the hell am I supposed to do now" feeling, and the numerous bugs (on the Vita version), I simply gave up. I didn't care much for the Jax & Daxter series either, but most platformers are lost on me anyways.

Wait, I do? I actually really enjoyed Tomb Raider, and this looks like it might have a similar vibe. Hence the interest.

Quote

For what itís worth, Iím not a 3rd person action fan either and I loved the game.

Good to hear. I'll probably give it a shot after a price drop or two.

Quote

Wait, Gratch, you've only tried a non-Naughty Dog designed game and are using that to say you don't like Naughty Dog games?

I've played one of the PS3 Uncharted games (2, I think) and the Vita Uncharted game (which I thought was done by ND, thanks for clarifying). Didn't think much of either one after 3-4 hours. Between the crappy combat (it's entirely possible that it was good and I just sucked), the constant "what the hell am I supposed to do now" feeling, and the numerous bugs (on the Vita version), I simply gave up. I didn't care much for the Jax & Daxter series either, but most platformers are lost on me anyways.

Interesting, there's a "Making of" video available for people, I forget how you get it, but it's available for download now to certain people.

Apparently, it avoids the things I usually hate about making of videos that are included in pre-orders or collector's editions. Those videos are usually just press pieces, with no actual detailed discussion of actually making of the game, or key moments within the game.

A non spoiler example is that they fit all the animations for Joel, Ellie, and all the NPCs in just 4-5MB of memory. Now, some of what happened did feel samey, I mean almost the same strangle animation every time, but can you imagine if they had 8 times the memory?

But in this case... (post game spoilers)

Spoiler for Hiden:

There's word that they actually talk about things like the Giraffe scene, and more. It's a 3GB video, not sure how full of stuff there is, but it's a good sign.

Also, after some time thinking about it, I feel a lot better about the ending, not about what happens, but about the overall storytelling and the guts it took to do so. It's an incredibly personal, and grey, moral story area and I've come to love it for that. It's true to the characters, and I love the fact that Ellie absolutely knows that Joel lied to her, and is willing to accept the lie.

ND has said that they would be okay if they never did a sequel, but honestly, I think they'd also be fine if they did a sequel. There is a lot more character development left to explore, and a lot more world as well.

Edit: also they have a reflected/bounce/global light system in engine. Shown here:

Oh, by the way I got a kick out of the fact that the game started out in Boston. I didn't realize it until they passed signs for 90 and 95. The geography was not even close to accurate but it was still cool to see some of the buildings. It was funny because they go straight from downtown Boston to Lincoln, which would have been a nice long walk (about 5 hours if you never stopped, according to Google).

Oh, by the way I got a kick out of the fact that the game started out in Boston. I didn't realize it until they passed signs for 90 and 95. The geography was not even close to accurate but it was still cool to see some of the buildings. It was funny because they go straight from downtown Boston to Lincoln, which would have been a nice long walk (about 5 hours if you never stopped, according to Google).

I moved from Pittsburgh to Boston at one point in my life, so it's especially bizarre for me. Though it's nowhere near accurate (there is a yellow bridge in the 'burgh just like that, at least).

Took me a while to figure it out, too, but my wife made the connection instantly when she saw the capitol building. I stayed skeptical until I found myself standing in a subway stop I used to visit in real life every day.

Took me a while to figure it out, too, but my wife made the connection instantly when she saw the capitol building. I stayed skeptical until I found myself standing in a subway stop I used to visit in real life every day.

I was wondering how much of the stuff you see is actually real. I figured the subway signs were, but what about the buildings?

Took me a while to figure it out, too, but my wife made the connection instantly when she saw the capitol building. I stayed skeptical until I found myself standing in a subway stop I used to visit in real life every day.

I was wondering how much of the stuff you see is actually real. I figured the subway signs were, but what about the buildings?

There were like 2 real buildings that a I noticed, the Capitol and the old State House.

Took me a while to figure it out, too, but my wife made the connection instantly when she saw the capitol building. I stayed skeptical until I found myself standing in a subway stop I used to visit in real life every day.

I was wondering how much of the stuff you see is actually real. I figured the subway signs were, but what about the buildings?

A lot of stuff seemed "inspired by" the real deal. The Park St station kinda sorta looked like the real one, especially with its location in relation to a fake Boston Common. A lot of the buildings in the cityscape kinda sorta looked like buildings in real Boston, but everything was a bit off in some way or another.

Oh, on the Boston thing, I don't understand why there is a sign in Lincoln saying it is Amherst county, a county that doesn't even exist in Mass. I mean, they pick some random Metrowest town and don't even bother to look up the county?

Oh, on the Boston thing, I don't understand why there is a sign in Lincoln saying it is Amherst county, a county that doesn't even exist in Mass. I mean, they pick some random Metrowest town and don't even bother to look up the county?

Maybe for the same reason the MBTA was renamed in-game as the "State with a Bay Train Association" or whatever? "The opinions on the zombie apocalypse in Lincoln, Amherst are not necessarily those of Lincoln, Middlesex."

I'm having tremendous fun with the multiplayer, but it's marred by pub play. If you want to play multi, it's best to get together with friends to do so.

The whole multiplayer is pretty much built around teamwork, there are so many benefits for teamplay, such that if you're careful and work as a team, it's very hard to fully kill the team.

Is there a particular time and day you guys play multiplayer?

Edit: Oh, and just so you guys know, in both single and multiplayer, you can hold down the Triangle button to take all visible items. That can save you a second while looting a box in multi.

Another thing that might confuse people in MP is that if you are moving, regardless of whether you're crouched, people can hear you in Listen Mode. However, if you have the Covert Ops perk at level 2, moving while crouched allows you to move unheard. So if you need to cover a lot of ground in a safe area, stand up and move. Remember that sprinting puts you on everyone's minimap. Crouching while moving does have a benefit of putting you low, behind any cover that's around. However standing does mean you have a better shot over low objects.

I can hold my own in Call of Duty even at level 1. But MP here gives significant advantages to higher levels because each of the perks can be upgraded (it's not just gun unlocks). So no matter how much teamwork you are doing, it's an uphill battle against people who are higher level. Matchmaking also seems to randomly assign teams so you get one team with 4 Level 10+ and the other team with highest level of 1. The slaughter is hilarious, it's like playing a smurf match in a MOBA.

I can hold my own in Call of Duty even at level 1. But MP here gives significant advantages to higher levels because each of the perks can be upgraded (it's not just gun unlocks). So no matter how much teamwork you are doing, it's an uphill battle against people who are higher level. Matchmaking also seems to randomly assign teams so you get one team with 4 Level 10+ and the other team with highest level of 1. The slaughter is hilarious, it's like playing a smurf match in a MOBA.

And apparently all the COD ubers went Hunter because I went FF and have never won a match.